Use the contents of your kitchen cabinets to help build your child’s reading observation skills. Ask her to look for letters of the alphabet or words on boxes or cans of food. For example, as your child is eating cereal, ask her to show you five A’s on the box. Start with capital letters then move to lowercase letters. How many cans contain items beginning with B?

Does your child have a test coming up? Chances are the teacher won’t have music playing or a TV on during the test. So don’t allow your child to study with such distractions, either. The test will probably be timed, so your child could try taking a practice test using a kitchen timer.

Children learn a lot from their friends, such as loyalty, sharing, leading and following. And research says friends can also help children do better in school. Children who know they have friends are more likely to take risks such as trying out for a team or volunteering to do a math problem on the board. Encourage friendships by inviting your child’s friends to your home, or to join your family for an activity.

An end of the year parent-teacher conference can help you learn more about your child’s strengths and weaknesses. It can also help you plan for school years to come. Ask the teacher whether your child has made the progress expected, or if there are obstacles to overcome. Ask how you and the school can work together to overcome them. Find out what you can do over the summer to prepare your child for next year.

Exercise is important to keeping your child healthy and fit to learn. But it is important for your child to exercise safely. Each year thousands of children are injured while riding bicycles. Many of these injuries are preventable. Bike riders should always wear a properly-fitting helmet. And until kids reach age 9, they should not ride bikes in the street. Older kids should always ride on the right side of the road.

Does your child think that success is something that just happens to others? One way to change that mindset is to talk about good things that could “possibly” happen to him. Be creative. Let your child know you see a bright future for him. Chances are, you’ll start him thinking about positive possibilities, too—and that’s a step toward success.

The next time you are getting note cards for your child to use as flash cards, or paper for her to write spelling words, consider that at least one study expert recommends using yellow paper. Susan Rolfe, author of several books on study skills, says students can see information more clearly on yellow. She suggests that the best way to learn new words is to print them in black ink on yellow paper.

Writing numbers out in word form is a good way for your child to understand the mathematical concept of “place value.” Give your child a list of four or five numbers, such as 562, 73, 184, 16 and 43. Have her write them in words—five hundred sixty-two, seventy-three and so on. Then try it in reverse. Give your child the words and ask her to write the numbers.

Children aren’t born with a lot of patience and self-control. They need to learn them. But if you are always in a hurry, complaining about traffic delays or saying “Hurry up!” to your child, it will be hard for him to learn patience from you. Model the behavior you want your child to have. Remember, your child may try your patience, but you’ll weaken his if you lose your cool.

Go beyond Mother’s Day and Memorial Day to celebrate (and learn) with your child on other May holidays. Practice kindness to a pet during Be Kind to Animals Week (May 3-9). Write limericks on Limerick Day (May 12). Write letters to faraway relatives on Visit Your Relatives Day (May 18). Read about aviation on May 21 on the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic.

Help your child sharpen his powers of observation while learning about nature and birds. Here’s how: With your child, look around your neighborhood for birds. Note the ones you see most often. Ask your child to make drawings of them. Can either of you identify them? Then take your child to the library to learn more about the birds you’ve seen and others in your area.

To get your child to listen, listen to your child
You want your child to listen attentively in school. You can help by listening to her. But it can be difficult to give your undivided attention when you’re trying to get dinner on the table, the dog is barking and a delivery truck has just arrived. When your child is trying to talk in a setting that makes it difficult to listen, make an appointment to talk later, when things are calmer. Then follow through.
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